The Journal of Library & Information Services in Distance Learning, a
peer-reviewed journal published by Routledge/The Haworth Press, welcomes
the submission of manuscripts. The journal is devoted to the issues and
concerns of librarians and information specialists involved with
distance education and delivering library resources and services to this
growing community of students.
Topics can include but are not limited to:
* Faculty/librarian cooperation and collaboration
* Information literacy
* Instructional service techniques
* Information delivery
* Reference services
* Document delivery
* Developing collections
If you are interested in submitting an article, send the manuscript
directly to the Editor, Jodi Poe at jpoe@jsu.edu by November 1, 2009.
Inquiries and questions are welcome.
Instructions for authors are available at
http://www.informaworld.com/openurl?genre=journal&issn=1533-290X
or can be emailed to you directly.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jodi W. Poe, Editor
Journal of Library & Information Services in Distance Learning
Associate Professor, Head of Technical Services
Houston Cole Library
Jacksonville State University
700 Pelham Road North
Jacksonville, AL 36265-1602
TEL: (256) 782-8103
FAX: (256) 782-5872
Email: jpoe@jsu.edu / via libref-l
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Webinars - Library Leadership and Management Association
The Library Leadership and Management Association (LLAMA) recently announced a
line-up of three interactive webinars designed to meet the needs of experienced
leaders and managers at the dean, director, department head and branch manager
level. Each of the 60-90 minute programs will feature library consultant Pat
Wagner of Pattern Research.
“These short webinars provide materials drawn from many sources and offer an
interdisciplinary approach to leadership topics with material from outside the
library world that can help participants solve complex problems. Emphasis is
on practical applications rather than academic models – how-to leadership above
the basics that are provided in many leadership institutes,” said Ms. Wagner.
“The Executive-Decision Maker’s Secret Weapon – How You Can Make Better
Choices with
the Use of Graphic Models,” Wed, Oct 21, 2:00-3:30 pm, Central Time.
“Learn the Supervisor’s Balancing Act – How You Can Bring Out the Best in
Your Top
People Without Micromanagement,” Tues, Nov 3, 2:00-3:30 pm, CT
“Make Your Library Dreams Come True –
How You Can Use Project Management Techniques to Write a Strategic Plan,”
Mon., Nov.16, 2:00-3:30 pm, CT
Registration for each webinar is $39 for LLAMA members and $49 for all others.
For more information or to register:
http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/llama/conted/fall2009webinars.xml.cfm
About the Library Leadership and Management Association
The mission of the Library Leadership and Management Association
(www.ala.org/llama) is to encourage and nurture current and future library
leaders, and to develop and promote outstanding leadership and management
practices. LLAMA is a division of the American Library Association.
line-up of three interactive webinars designed to meet the needs of experienced
leaders and managers at the dean, director, department head and branch manager
level. Each of the 60-90 minute programs will feature library consultant Pat
Wagner of Pattern Research.
“These short webinars provide materials drawn from many sources and offer an
interdisciplinary approach to leadership topics with material from outside the
library world that can help participants solve complex problems. Emphasis is
on practical applications rather than academic models – how-to leadership above
the basics that are provided in many leadership institutes,” said Ms. Wagner.
“The Executive-Decision Maker’s Secret Weapon – How You Can Make Better
Choices with
the Use of Graphic Models,” Wed, Oct 21, 2:00-3:30 pm, Central Time.
“Learn the Supervisor’s Balancing Act – How You Can Bring Out the Best in
Your Top
People Without Micromanagement,” Tues, Nov 3, 2:00-3:30 pm, CT
“Make Your Library Dreams Come True –
How You Can Use Project Management Techniques to Write a Strategic Plan,”
Mon., Nov.16, 2:00-3:30 pm, CT
Registration for each webinar is $39 for LLAMA members and $49 for all others.
For more information or to register:
http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/llama/conted/fall2009webinars.xml.cfm
About the Library Leadership and Management Association
The mission of the Library Leadership and Management Association
(www.ala.org/llama) is to encourage and nurture current and future library
leaders, and to develop and promote outstanding leadership and management
practices. LLAMA is a division of the American Library Association.
CFP - Politics, Libraries and Culture: Historical Perspectives
Call for Papers: Politics, Libraries and Culture: Historical Perspectives
*CALL FOR PAPERS:*
*Politics, Libraries and Culture: Historical Perspectives*
*Library History Round Table (LHRT) Research Forum, June 2010*
* *
The Library History Round Table (LHRT) of the American Library Association (ALA) seeks papers for its Research Forum at the 2010 ALA Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C., June 24-29, 2010. The theme of the Forum will be historical perspectives on the ways in which politics and libraries interact and influence one another. In this instance, politics should be considered broadly—not simply as concerning the administration of governments (international, national, state, local) but also the politics of other institutions and groups. Possible topics might be the effects politics have had on the history of libraries, archives, government documents and other cultural records. How have individual and institutional efforts of librarians influenced public policy pertaining to information access, reading, and services to the public? How have political concerns shaped the collection, preservation, availability and use of libraries and other repositories in different periods, locations, and jurisdictions? How have libraries, archives, and similar institutions tried to shape information politics and society through copyright law, the right to read, public library funding and other efforts?
LHRT welcomes submissions from researchers of all backgrounds, including students, faculty, and practitioners. Proposals are due on November 30, 2009. Each proposal must give the paper title, an abstract (up to 500 words), and the scholar’s one-page vita. Also, please indicate whether the research is in-progress or completed. Proposals should include the following elements: a problem or thesis the study addresses, a statement of significance, objectives, methods, primary sources used for the research, and conclusions (or tentative conclusions for works in progress).
From the submissions, the LHRT Research Committee will select several authors to present their completed work at the Forum. The program will be publicized in January 2010. So that the Forum’s facilitator may introduce and react to each author, completed papers are due June 4, 2010. The Research Forum will likely occur on Sunday, June 27, 2010. All presenters must register to attend the conference. For registration options, see ALA’s events and conferences page at http://www.ala.org/ .
*DEADLINE FOR PROPOSALS*: November 30, 2009
*DEADLINE FOR COMPLETED PAPERS: * June 4, 2009
Please submit proposals and direct inquiries to:
* *
*Melanie A. Kimball
LHRT Vice-Chair/Research Committee Chair*
*Simmons** College*
*Graduate School of Library and Information Science 300 The Fenway* *Boston**, MA 02115*
Telephone: (617) 521-2795
E-mail: melanie.kimball@simmons.edu
*CALL FOR PAPERS:*
*Politics, Libraries and Culture: Historical Perspectives*
*Library History Round Table (LHRT) Research Forum, June 2010*
* *
The Library History Round Table (LHRT) of the American Library Association (ALA) seeks papers for its Research Forum at the 2010 ALA Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C., June 24-29, 2010. The theme of the Forum will be historical perspectives on the ways in which politics and libraries interact and influence one another. In this instance, politics should be considered broadly—not simply as concerning the administration of governments (international, national, state, local) but also the politics of other institutions and groups. Possible topics might be the effects politics have had on the history of libraries, archives, government documents and other cultural records. How have individual and institutional efforts of librarians influenced public policy pertaining to information access, reading, and services to the public? How have political concerns shaped the collection, preservation, availability and use of libraries and other repositories in different periods, locations, and jurisdictions? How have libraries, archives, and similar institutions tried to shape information politics and society through copyright law, the right to read, public library funding and other efforts?
LHRT welcomes submissions from researchers of all backgrounds, including students, faculty, and practitioners. Proposals are due on November 30, 2009. Each proposal must give the paper title, an abstract (up to 500 words), and the scholar’s one-page vita. Also, please indicate whether the research is in-progress or completed. Proposals should include the following elements: a problem or thesis the study addresses, a statement of significance, objectives, methods, primary sources used for the research, and conclusions (or tentative conclusions for works in progress).
From the submissions, the LHRT Research Committee will select several authors to present their completed work at the Forum. The program will be publicized in January 2010. So that the Forum’s facilitator may introduce and react to each author, completed papers are due June 4, 2010. The Research Forum will likely occur on Sunday, June 27, 2010. All presenters must register to attend the conference. For registration options, see ALA’s events and conferences page at http://www.ala.org/ .
*DEADLINE FOR PROPOSALS*: November 30, 2009
*DEADLINE FOR COMPLETED PAPERS: * June 4, 2009
Please submit proposals and direct inquiries to:
* *
*Melanie A. Kimball
LHRT Vice-Chair/Research Committee Chair*
*Simmons** College*
*Graduate School of Library and Information Science 300 The Fenway* *Boston**, MA 02115*
Telephone: (617) 521-2795
E-mail: melanie.kimball@simmons.edu
CFP - Library and Archival Security
In proclaiming October 2009 National Information Literacy month, President Barack Obama said:
“Though we may know how to find the information we need, we must also know how to evaluate it. Over the past decade, we have seen a crisis of authenticity emerge. We now live in a world where anyone can publish an opinion or perspective, whether true or not, and have that opinion amplified within the information marketplace. At the same time, Americans have unprecedented access to the diverse and independent sources of infor- mation, as well as institutions such as libraries and universities, that can help separate truth from fiction and signal from noise.”
The journal, Library and Archival Security, would welcome submissions on the topic of misinformation on the Internet, including the Web and Social Networks, and means of addressing it. Now entering its 23rd volume year, L&AS is a peer-reviewed publication of Routledge, a division of Taylor and Francis.
Original research, case studies, book and software reviews, and opinionated editorials on all aspects of physical and communications security, problem behavior, conservation, preservation, disaster preparedness and recovery, and related legal and social issues are welcome. For instructions for authors, please visit our Web site or contact the Editor at the addresses below.
—
Chris Brown-Syed PhD
Editor, Library and Archival Security
cbrownsyed@cogeco.ca
Skype: cbrownsyed
http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/titles/01960075.asp
“Though we may know how to find the information we need, we must also know how to evaluate it. Over the past decade, we have seen a crisis of authenticity emerge. We now live in a world where anyone can publish an opinion or perspective, whether true or not, and have that opinion amplified within the information marketplace. At the same time, Americans have unprecedented access to the diverse and independent sources of infor- mation, as well as institutions such as libraries and universities, that can help separate truth from fiction and signal from noise.”
The journal, Library and Archival Security, would welcome submissions on the topic of misinformation on the Internet, including the Web and Social Networks, and means of addressing it. Now entering its 23rd volume year, L&AS is a peer-reviewed publication of Routledge, a division of Taylor and Francis.
Original research, case studies, book and software reviews, and opinionated editorials on all aspects of physical and communications security, problem behavior, conservation, preservation, disaster preparedness and recovery, and related legal and social issues are welcome. For instructions for authors, please visit our Web site or contact the Editor at the addresses below.
—
Chris Brown-Syed PhD
Editor, Library and Archival Security
cbrownsyed@cogeco.ca
Skype: cbrownsyed
http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/titles/01960075.asp
Scholarship - Freedom to Read Foundation
The Freedom to Read Foundation is offering free one-year memberships to students graduating from ALA-accredited MLS and MLIS programs and from school library media programs recognized by the American Association of School Librarians (AASL), an educational unit accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE).
Students whose graduation date was Aug. 1, 2009 or later can, upon their graduation, download a membership form at www.ftrf.org/graduates and mail, fax or e-mail it to the Freedom to Read Foundation.
“We are very excited to offer this gift to new librarians,” said FTRF president Kent Oliver. “By becoming members of the Freedom to Read Foundation, these professionals will be helping the librarians and library supporters who are on the front lines defending intellectual freedom as well as vital First Amendment litigation that helps uphold many of the core values of librarianship. Offering these free memberships is our way of encouraging the long-term support of the organization and the intellectual freedom principles it upholds.”
As benefits of their m embership, the graduates will receive the Freedom to Read Foundation’s quarterly newsletter, be eligible to vote in the annual trustee election, and attend FTRF member receptions. The membership will be good through December 2010.
The Freedom to Read Foundation, an affiliated organization of the American Library Association, was founded in 1969 to promote and defend the right of individuals to freely express ideas and to access information in libraries and elsewhere. FTRF fulfills its mission through the disbursement of grants to individuals and groups, primarily for the purpose of aiding them in litigation, and through direct participation in litigation dealing with freedom of speech and of the press.
Carrie Gardner Ph.D.
Chair, Freedom to Read Foundation Membership Chair
Students whose graduation date was Aug. 1, 2009 or later can, upon their graduation, download a membership form at www.ftrf.org/graduates and mail, fax or e-mail it to the Freedom to Read Foundation.
“We are very excited to offer this gift to new librarians,” said FTRF president Kent Oliver. “By becoming members of the Freedom to Read Foundation, these professionals will be helping the librarians and library supporters who are on the front lines defending intellectual freedom as well as vital First Amendment litigation that helps uphold many of the core values of librarianship. Offering these free memberships is our way of encouraging the long-term support of the organization and the intellectual freedom principles it upholds.”
As benefits of their m embership, the graduates will receive the Freedom to Read Foundation’s quarterly newsletter, be eligible to vote in the annual trustee election, and attend FTRF member receptions. The membership will be good through December 2010.
The Freedom to Read Foundation, an affiliated organization of the American Library Association, was founded in 1969 to promote and defend the right of individuals to freely express ideas and to access information in libraries and elsewhere. FTRF fulfills its mission through the disbursement of grants to individuals and groups, primarily for the purpose of aiding them in litigation, and through direct participation in litigation dealing with freedom of speech and of the press.
Carrie Gardner Ph.D.
Chair, Freedom to Read Foundation Membership Chair
CFP - Book - Teaching Information Literacy Online
CALL FOR CHAPTERS
We are soliciting chapter proposals for a book entitled Teaching Information Literacy Online, to be published in 2010 by Neal-Schuman Publishers. This book will include chapters co-authored by librarian and faculty teams about successful information literacy initiatives in online learning environments. We are especially interested in information literacy collaborations in fully online modes through distance and open learning as well as blended or hybrid endeavors. We encourage faculty-librarian author teams from multiple disciplines, at the undergraduate and graduate level, in North America and internationally. Our previous books include: Information Literacy Collaborations That Work (2007), Using Technology to Teach Information Literacy (2008), and Collaborative Information Literacy Assessments: Strategies for Evaluating Teaching and Learning (2009).
This new book, Teaching Information Literacy Online, will present innovative models for information literacy instruction in online modes, such as distance or distributed learning, open learning, as well as blended or hybrid. As these different formats continue to expand in scope and influence, it is the ideal time to examine faculty and librarian partnerships for developing information literacy instruction online. We have seen the rapid expansion of online programs at community colleges, four-year institutions, universities with graduate and doctoral degree programs, through non-traditional adult education programs, and via international distance learning initiatives. The central focus of this book will be on collaboration among librarians and faculty to effectively deliver quality information literacy instruction online. This will potentially include information literacy partnerships for disciplinary and interdisciplinary courses and programs, international degree programs, open learning initiatives, open educational resources, online assessment practices, and adult education programs. This book will present national and international library collaborations that have had a significant impact on information literacy instruction efforts and student learning.
Chapters need to be co-authored by a librarian and a faculty member. Also, each completed chapter should include the following sections:
Introduction
Related Literature
Institutional Context
Disciplinary or Interdisciplinary Perspective
Discussion of Faculty Librarian Collaboration (including challenges)
Program Planning (online format, technology, set-up costs, student access issues, etc.)
Online Learning Model
Impact on Student Learning
Assessment of Online Learning
Conclusion
This book will be co-edited by Thomas P. Mackey, Ph.D., Associate Dean at the Center for Distance Learning at SUNY Empire State College and Trudi E. Jacobson, M.L.S., Head of User Education Programs, University Libraries at the University at Albany, SUNY.
Please send proposals of 1-2 pages to Tom Mackey at Tom.Mackey@esc.edu no later than November 20, 2009. Chapter selections will be made and authors notified by December 10, 2009. First drafts of the completed chapters (25-30 pages) will be due on March 1, 2010. Final drafts will be due by May 28, 2010. If you have any questions about proposal ideas or about the book please contact Tom Mackey via email.
We are soliciting chapter proposals for a book entitled Teaching Information Literacy Online, to be published in 2010 by Neal-Schuman Publishers. This book will include chapters co-authored by librarian and faculty teams about successful information literacy initiatives in online learning environments. We are especially interested in information literacy collaborations in fully online modes through distance and open learning as well as blended or hybrid endeavors. We encourage faculty-librarian author teams from multiple disciplines, at the undergraduate and graduate level, in North America and internationally. Our previous books include: Information Literacy Collaborations That Work (2007), Using Technology to Teach Information Literacy (2008), and Collaborative Information Literacy Assessments: Strategies for Evaluating Teaching and Learning (2009).
This new book, Teaching Information Literacy Online, will present innovative models for information literacy instruction in online modes, such as distance or distributed learning, open learning, as well as blended or hybrid. As these different formats continue to expand in scope and influence, it is the ideal time to examine faculty and librarian partnerships for developing information literacy instruction online. We have seen the rapid expansion of online programs at community colleges, four-year institutions, universities with graduate and doctoral degree programs, through non-traditional adult education programs, and via international distance learning initiatives. The central focus of this book will be on collaboration among librarians and faculty to effectively deliver quality information literacy instruction online. This will potentially include information literacy partnerships for disciplinary and interdisciplinary courses and programs, international degree programs, open learning initiatives, open educational resources, online assessment practices, and adult education programs. This book will present national and international library collaborations that have had a significant impact on information literacy instruction efforts and student learning.
Chapters need to be co-authored by a librarian and a faculty member. Also, each completed chapter should include the following sections:
Introduction
Related Literature
Institutional Context
Disciplinary or Interdisciplinary Perspective
Discussion of Faculty Librarian Collaboration (including challenges)
Program Planning (online format, technology, set-up costs, student access issues, etc.)
Online Learning Model
Impact on Student Learning
Assessment of Online Learning
Conclusion
This book will be co-edited by Thomas P. Mackey, Ph.D., Associate Dean at the Center for Distance Learning at SUNY Empire State College and Trudi E. Jacobson, M.L.S., Head of User Education Programs, University Libraries at the University at Albany, SUNY.
Please send proposals of 1-2 pages to Tom Mackey at Tom.Mackey@esc.edu no later than November 20, 2009. Chapter selections will be made and authors notified by December 10, 2009. First drafts of the completed chapters (25-30 pages) will be due on March 1, 2010. Final drafts will be due by May 28, 2010. If you have any questions about proposal ideas or about the book please contact Tom Mackey via email.
Fellowship - NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES
NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES
NCSU Libraries Fellows, 2010-2012
The NCSU Libraries Fellows program offers a unique opportunity to a select group of M.L.S. or M.I.S. graduates who will receive the degree in November 2009 or later. The NCSU Libraries is particularly well known for its digital library programs, its technological advances, and its commitment to defining the future of librarianship. The NCSU Libraries offers Fellows the opportunity for rapid professional growth through assignment to an innovative project, combined with experience and mentoring in a department. Fellows are appointed to the rank of librarian for a two-year term. Search by position number C-60-0916. .
Candidates for July 2010 placement are encouraged to apply before December 15, 2009: Interviews will be held in January/February.
See full vacancy announcement and further information at www.lib.ncsu.edu/jobs/epa.html Apply online at https://jobs.ncsu.edu/
Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer NC State welcomes all persons without regard to sexual orientation Persons with disabilities requiring accommodations in the application and interview process please call (919) 515-3148.
NCSU Libraries Fellows, 2010-2012
The NCSU Libraries Fellows program offers a unique opportunity to a select group of M.L.S. or M.I.S. graduates who will receive the degree in November 2009 or later. The NCSU Libraries is particularly well known for its digital library programs, its technological advances, and its commitment to defining the future of librarianship. The NCSU Libraries offers Fellows the opportunity for rapid professional growth through assignment to an innovative project, combined with experience and mentoring in a department. Fellows are appointed to the rank of librarian for a two-year term. Search by position number C-60-0916. .
Candidates for July 2010 placement are encouraged to apply before December 15, 2009: Interviews will be held in January/February.
See full vacancy announcement and further information at www.lib.ncsu.edu/jobs/epa.html Apply online at https://jobs.ncsu.edu/
Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer NC State welcomes all persons without regard to sexual orientation Persons with disabilities requiring accommodations in the application and interview process please call (919) 515-3148.
Conference - Conference on the First-Year Experience
Registration is now open for the 29th Annual Conference on the First-Year Experience which will be held in Denver February 12-16, 2010. This is a great opportunity to share ideas, research, experience, and strategies aimed at improving the quality of education for first-year students. While the needs and challenges our students and institutions face are constantly evolving, The First-Year Conference series continues to provide a relaxed environment conducive to intensive learning and professionally enriching discussions. Librarians are encourage to attend and learn along with colleagues from across campus constituencies.
For more information visit National Resource Center for the First Year Experience site at: http://sc.edu/fye/events/annual/index.html
Thanks,
Debbie Malone
DeSales University
Library Director
2755 Station Avenue
Center Valley, PA 18034
610.282.1100 x1253
FAX 610.282.2342
debbie.malone@desales.edu
For more information visit National Resource Center for the First Year Experience site at: http://sc.edu/fye/events/annual/index.html
Thanks,
Debbie Malone
DeSales University
Library Director
2755 Station Avenue
Center Valley, PA 18034
610.282.1100 x1253
FAX 610.282.2342
debbie.malone@desales.edu
CFP - Beyond Austerity; Facing Recession, Massive Reductions in Funding and Personnel-Librarians Plan for Fiscal Survival
Beyond Austerity; Facing Recession, Massive Reductions in Funding and Personnel-Librarians Plan for Fiscal Survival
Publisher: major, long established, in the library field
Editor: Carol Smallwood, MLS. Writing and Publishing: The Librarian’s Handbook, American Library Association 2010; Librarians as Community Partners: An Outreach Handbook, American Library Association, 2010; Thinking Outside the Book, McFarland 2008. Some others are Peter Lang, Libraries Unlimited, Linworth, Scarecrow
Foreword: Dr. Ann Riedling, Associate Professor, University of South Florida; An Educator’s Guide to Information Literacy, Libraries Unlimited, 2007; Writing and Publishing: Contributor, The Librarian’s Handbook, American Library Association, 2010. A two-time Fulbright Scholar included in Contemporary Authors
Afterword: Dr. Loriene Roy, Professor in the School of Information, the University of Texas at Austin, Past President of the American Library Association, Director/ Founder, If I Can Read, I Can Do Anything Reading Club.
Contributor, Librarians as Community Partners: An Outreach Handbook, American Library Association, 2010
Articles sought by practicing academic, public, school, special librarians sharing their experiences on how librarians are handling the recession. Concise, how-to articles using bullets, headings, by librarians in the trenches using creativity and innovation
No previously published, simultaneously submitted material. One article sharing the range of your experience, 2100-2300 words total. If you must use citations, use MLA style faithfully. Articles welcomed by one librarian, or co-authored by two
Possible topics: creative staffing, financial planning, grant writing, community donations, sharing facilities, cooperative buying, maximizing the media, legislative participation, workshops for job hunters
The deadline for completed articles (Call #1) is November 30, 2009. Contributors will receive an agreement to sign before publication. Compensation: a complimentary copy, discount on additional copies
To avoid duplication, please e-mail three topics each clearly proposed with three separate short paragraphs by October 31 along with a 75-85 word bio beginning with: your name, library of employment, employment title, awards, publications, and career highlights. If co-authored, each of the two librarian-writers will need to send a separate bio. You will be contacted as soon as possible telling you which one (if any) of your topics will work, inviting you to e-mail your article; an invitation doesn’t guarantee acceptance. Please place AUSTERITY/your name on the subject line to: smallwood@tm.net
Publisher: major, long established, in the library field
Editor: Carol Smallwood, MLS. Writing and Publishing: The Librarian’s Handbook, American Library Association 2010; Librarians as Community Partners: An Outreach Handbook, American Library Association, 2010; Thinking Outside the Book, McFarland 2008. Some others are Peter Lang, Libraries Unlimited, Linworth, Scarecrow
Foreword: Dr. Ann Riedling, Associate Professor, University of South Florida; An Educator’s Guide to Information Literacy, Libraries Unlimited, 2007; Writing and Publishing: Contributor, The Librarian’s Handbook, American Library Association, 2010. A two-time Fulbright Scholar included in Contemporary Authors
Afterword: Dr. Loriene Roy, Professor in the School of Information, the University of Texas at Austin, Past President of the American Library Association, Director/ Founder, If I Can Read, I Can Do Anything Reading Club.
Contributor, Librarians as Community Partners: An Outreach Handbook, American Library Association, 2010
Articles sought by practicing academic, public, school, special librarians sharing their experiences on how librarians are handling the recession. Concise, how-to articles using bullets, headings, by librarians in the trenches using creativity and innovation
No previously published, simultaneously submitted material. One article sharing the range of your experience, 2100-2300 words total. If you must use citations, use MLA style faithfully. Articles welcomed by one librarian, or co-authored by two
Possible topics: creative staffing, financial planning, grant writing, community donations, sharing facilities, cooperative buying, maximizing the media, legislative participation, workshops for job hunters
The deadline for completed articles (Call #1) is November 30, 2009. Contributors will receive an agreement to sign before publication. Compensation: a complimentary copy, discount on additional copies
To avoid duplication, please e-mail three topics each clearly proposed with three separate short paragraphs by October 31 along with a 75-85 word bio beginning with: your name, library of employment, employment title, awards, publications, and career highlights. If co-authored, each of the two librarian-writers will need to send a separate bio. You will be contacted as soon as possible telling you which one (if any) of your topics will work, inviting you to e-mail your article; an invitation doesn’t guarantee acceptance. Please place AUSTERITY/your name on the subject line to: smallwood@tm.net
Fellowship - Middle Tennessee State University
Middle Tennessee State University announces the availability of a dissertation fellowship to enhance campus diversity. The Library Fellow will provide service in the award winning James E. Walker Library within an area related to his or her academic preparation and the needs of the Library. The Fellow will be expected to devote significant time to the completion of the dissertation. The Library Fellow will also work with a library faculty mentor and will be involved with co-curricular activities including the University’s cultural diversity initiatives.
The Fellow will receive a one-year paid faculty appointment and will be eligible for benefits including health insurance along with support for research, professional travel, and other related expenses.
Applicants for the Library Fellowship must possess the ALA accredited masters and be a dissertation stage doctoral degree candidate studying in a field taught at MTSU.
For more information on the Library Fellowship see http://library.mtsu.edu/administration/jobs_fellow.php
The Fellow will receive a one-year paid faculty appointment and will be eligible for benefits including health insurance along with support for research, professional travel, and other related expenses.
Applicants for the Library Fellowship must possess the ALA accredited masters and be a dissertation stage doctoral degree candidate studying in a field taught at MTSU.
For more information on the Library Fellowship see http://library.mtsu.edu/administration/jobs_fellow.php
Preaching to the choir
Surveys. Focus groups. Interviews. Evaluations.
What do they all have in common? You do them in the library with people who are already in the library. So that's helping us? With what - organizing the library the way those 10 or 20 people would like it?
Why aren't we out in the student union, asking people what they think? Why don't we have librarians in the union, anyway? Isn't our mission to get info to students where they are? You can bet they're not in the library, unless it's to get coffee.
Why should they be? We code it with weird signs - A-F on the right, xA-xF on the left - and don't give them a code book. That's helpful? Don't we know English? Or Spanish, or...any language other than Librarian Code? NW Core is a location? Do we carry compasses in the library? How about a map? I remember a student who thought that ILL and Circulation were signs for nurses offices...and there was no live person around to disabuse him of the idea.
When I was an undergrad, long before I thought about being a librarian, people used to come up to me in the stacks and ask me questions about locating things, since I seemed to be finding stuff. Reshelvers seem to get the same thing. Why? Are there librarians in the stacks somewhere? Or are they all on the first floor, waiting for people to come to them?
Why aren't we advertising to the students who aren't here, or taling to the ones who are? That's another thing we can learn from bookstores.
Besides serving coffee.
What do they all have in common? You do them in the library with people who are already in the library. So that's helping us? With what - organizing the library the way those 10 or 20 people would like it?
Why aren't we out in the student union, asking people what they think? Why don't we have librarians in the union, anyway? Isn't our mission to get info to students where they are? You can bet they're not in the library, unless it's to get coffee.
Why should they be? We code it with weird signs - A-F on the right, xA-xF on the left - and don't give them a code book. That's helpful? Don't we know English? Or Spanish, or...any language other than Librarian Code? NW Core is a location? Do we carry compasses in the library? How about a map? I remember a student who thought that ILL and Circulation were signs for nurses offices...and there was no live person around to disabuse him of the idea.
When I was an undergrad, long before I thought about being a librarian, people used to come up to me in the stacks and ask me questions about locating things, since I seemed to be finding stuff. Reshelvers seem to get the same thing. Why? Are there librarians in the stacks somewhere? Or are they all on the first floor, waiting for people to come to them?
Why aren't we advertising to the students who aren't here, or taling to the ones who are? That's another thing we can learn from bookstores.
Besides serving coffee.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Our new site
While I'll continue to post here, our new business website at masterplansinc.com will be taking a lot of my time. It will have a link to a rolling list of CFPs, conferences, and training opportunities, and to a list of resources for libraries and archives. With CoOL on hiatus, bookmark us to keep track of preservation resources.
Our first online class will go up in a few weeks; if you need a class, let us know and we'll work with you. Since we're in Louisville, with a flood this month, and a hurricane, an earthquake, and an icestorm in the last 15 months, needless to say it will be about disaster planning and recovery!
Our first online class will go up in a few weeks; if you need a class, let us know and we'll work with you. Since we're in Louisville, with a flood this month, and a hurricane, an earthquake, and an icestorm in the last 15 months, needless to say it will be about disaster planning and recovery!
Sunday, August 16, 2009
New blog with grants and training opportunities
We've set up a new blog in conjunction with our consulting business, Master Plans Inc. It will have grant announcements, webinars and workshops, and scholarships for them. Put it on your reader and let us do the work!
http://masterplansinc.blogspot.com/
http://masterplansinc.blogspot.com/
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Flooding in Louisville
Rain in August is usually not a problem here; in fact, the lack is usually the issue. But in the last 18 months, there's been an earthquake (while I was presenting at MAC about disasters!), a hurricane, an ice storm, and a July without a single 90 degree day, none of which are typical.
Unlike most floods, the waters didn't rise, we had 5" of rain in an hour (a record, with more rain following), and nowhere for it to go but downhill, which is where the main library is. Luckily, the 'ville is big enough to have branches, so it's not a complete loss, nor did the water reach the first floor. It did take out processing, the server, and the bookmobiles, plus books and pcs headed to the new branch which opens next week.
Lessons learned:
Always have a hot server, even if it just backs up the home page with an announcement. Keep your server at one of the higher branches, not in the basement of the library that's flooded before.
Have your ducks in a row before you need them. 20 buildings at U of L flooded, plus homes and businesses - fans and pumps are at a premium.
Avoid combined waste and storm sewer systems. Nuff said. Yuck.
Don't put your hvac in the basement. Imagine 4 floors of books, 95 degrees, 95% humidity outside, and 100% inside, with no hvac. My hopes for recovery are low, unfortunately; and insurance is slow.
Don't ever assume it can't happen here. It can.
Unlike most floods, the waters didn't rise, we had 5" of rain in an hour (a record, with more rain following), and nowhere for it to go but downhill, which is where the main library is. Luckily, the 'ville is big enough to have branches, so it's not a complete loss, nor did the water reach the first floor. It did take out processing, the server, and the bookmobiles, plus books and pcs headed to the new branch which opens next week.
Lessons learned:
Always have a hot server, even if it just backs up the home page with an announcement. Keep your server at one of the higher branches, not in the basement of the library that's flooded before.
Have your ducks in a row before you need them. 20 buildings at U of L flooded, plus homes and businesses - fans and pumps are at a premium.
Avoid combined waste and storm sewer systems. Nuff said. Yuck.
Don't put your hvac in the basement. Imagine 4 floors of books, 95 degrees, 95% humidity outside, and 100% inside, with no hvac. My hopes for recovery are low, unfortunately; and insurance is slow.
Don't ever assume it can't happen here. It can.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Good Enough!
I admit it, I do have enough of the librarian gene to want everything perfect - but not enough to insist on it. In a perfect world, collections would overflow with metadata, everything would be available 24/7, librarians would be rich, archivists would be regarded as gods, and cats would never hack hairballs in dark doorways for their nearsighted owners to find in the middle of the night.
So much for Eden.
I didn't start out to be a librarian, my "day job" degree was in education so I'd have a fallback when I was in theater. Technical theater teaches you everything you REALLY need to know to work in a library. People skills and management skills. The importance of workflow. Pitching in when things get down to the wire. Sharing what you know. Keeping good records. And most importantly - when to say "good enough".
When is it okay to let someone go onstage with a stapled hem? When the alternative is canceling the show. Good enough. You can finish it tomorrow, or the next day. It's not important enough to stop everything you've worked for so long. It's good enough.
Librarians haven't gotten hit over the head as hard as archivists have with "More Product, Less Process". But they will - actually, ARL just did a webcast on it - apparently the "Hidden Collections" initiative didn't light the fire they wanted. Google Books certainly has lit it. "Silos of the LAMS" fanned the flames.
When LC and NARA started posting things on Flickr and You Tube, people started to get the idea. You don't need to know everything about something to make it public. Finally. Duh. Don't put your good stuff in a box and then chain a pit bull to it, and whine when people refer to you as "dusty old archives". You've never let people in to look.
Yes, I know exactly how precious those unique items are. Digitize them and no one will have to travel a thousand miles and handle them. Your bosses will know what cool stuff you have. People will stop them on the street and tell them. When was the last time that happened to you?
It's the WORLD WIDE web - let your collections out. Stop protecting your turf, for fear of having to learn yet another new thing. Don't fear the reaper - or the harvester. I know all the arguments about income control, identity, and copyright. Deal with it.
Thus endeth the lesson. We're in the midst of the biggest intellectual revolution since Gutenberg said "Hmm...what if...?" Be part of it. Fight for it.
Oh, brave new world!
So much for Eden.
I didn't start out to be a librarian, my "day job" degree was in education so I'd have a fallback when I was in theater. Technical theater teaches you everything you REALLY need to know to work in a library. People skills and management skills. The importance of workflow. Pitching in when things get down to the wire. Sharing what you know. Keeping good records. And most importantly - when to say "good enough".
When is it okay to let someone go onstage with a stapled hem? When the alternative is canceling the show. Good enough. You can finish it tomorrow, or the next day. It's not important enough to stop everything you've worked for so long. It's good enough.
Librarians haven't gotten hit over the head as hard as archivists have with "More Product, Less Process". But they will - actually, ARL just did a webcast on it - apparently the "Hidden Collections" initiative didn't light the fire they wanted. Google Books certainly has lit it. "Silos of the LAMS" fanned the flames.
When LC and NARA started posting things on Flickr and You Tube, people started to get the idea. You don't need to know everything about something to make it public. Finally. Duh. Don't put your good stuff in a box and then chain a pit bull to it, and whine when people refer to you as "dusty old archives". You've never let people in to look.
Yes, I know exactly how precious those unique items are. Digitize them and no one will have to travel a thousand miles and handle them. Your bosses will know what cool stuff you have. People will stop them on the street and tell them. When was the last time that happened to you?
It's the WORLD WIDE web - let your collections out. Stop protecting your turf, for fear of having to learn yet another new thing. Don't fear the reaper - or the harvester. I know all the arguments about income control, identity, and copyright. Deal with it.
Thus endeth the lesson. We're in the midst of the biggest intellectual revolution since Gutenberg said "Hmm...what if...?" Be part of it. Fight for it.
Oh, brave new world!
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Call for Chapters: Reference in the Modern World(s)
It's been a while since I've posted - an icestorm, a week in winter without power, a third cat, getting a grant to research Ky women artists, a new job, starting a new business, and joining a writing workshop to get serious about it.
So look in the nearish future for at least a website on women artists, a chapter in a forthcoming book on archival PR, and I'm editing a book on modern reference (see below). Drop me a line at Susan.knoer@gmail.com if you're interested. The deadline is short so we can get it to press before it's no longer modern!
Reference has gotten more complicated in recent years, with the plethora of materials online and in paper, more ways to ask questions and deliver answers, a larger multicultural public, and interdisciplinary subjects. All this is complicated by declining budgets as usage increases.
This is a call for chapters for a new book that covers these issues and more, for public and academic libraries. New authors as well as experienced authors are welcome. Chapters can be co-written. The deadlines are short to get it to press while still timely; a letter of commitment is needed by June 1, with a brief abstract or outline of topics and a short CV. Please feel free to ask questions!
Working title:
Reference in the Modern World(s)
Topics:
Length - 3,000 - 5,000 words (negotiable)
Bibliography is required
Reference for the unattached - freelancers, distance students, entrepeneurs, home schoolers, military, self-employed
Business and academic support in the library, and vice versa
Balancing online and onshelf - budgeting for both, balancing services, training staff and patrons
Changing where we work - roving, virtual, embedded, and co-operative
Changing how we work - FAQs, websites, metadata, wikis, and knowledge management
Changing who does the work - staff and paraprofessionals, training, outsourcing
Specialists and generalists - new breeds and hybrids
Teaching your library - instruction, orientation, and learning commons
Images and media - reference when it's not written
Multicultural and multilingual - same skills, different outlooks
Special collections - getting patrons to the good stuff
Geneology, rare books, archives, manuscripts, local history
More topics are welcome, please feel free to contact me.
Schedule:
Letters of commitment due June 1
First draft due week of August 2
Edited drafts returned week of August 30
Final draft due week of November 1
Audience:
Adult reference librarians in public and academic libraries, and LIS students.
Editor : Susan Knoer, MLS
susan.knoer@gmail.com
So look in the nearish future for at least a website on women artists, a chapter in a forthcoming book on archival PR, and I'm editing a book on modern reference (see below). Drop me a line at Susan.knoer@gmail.com if you're interested. The deadline is short so we can get it to press before it's no longer modern!
Reference has gotten more complicated in recent years, with the plethora of materials online and in paper, more ways to ask questions and deliver answers, a larger multicultural public, and interdisciplinary subjects. All this is complicated by declining budgets as usage increases.
This is a call for chapters for a new book that covers these issues and more, for public and academic libraries. New authors as well as experienced authors are welcome. Chapters can be co-written. The deadlines are short to get it to press while still timely; a letter of commitment is needed by June 1, with a brief abstract or outline of topics and a short CV. Please feel free to ask questions!
Working title:
Reference in the Modern World(s)
Topics:
Length - 3,000 - 5,000 words (negotiable)
Bibliography is required
Reference for the unattached - freelancers, distance students, entrepeneurs, home schoolers, military, self-employed
Business and academic support in the library, and vice versa
Balancing online and onshelf - budgeting for both, balancing services, training staff and patrons
Changing where we work - roving, virtual, embedded, and co-operative
Changing how we work - FAQs, websites, metadata, wikis, and knowledge management
Changing who does the work - staff and paraprofessionals, training, outsourcing
Specialists and generalists - new breeds and hybrids
Teaching your library - instruction, orientation, and learning commons
Images and media - reference when it's not written
Multicultural and multilingual - same skills, different outlooks
Special collections - getting patrons to the good stuff
Geneology, rare books, archives, manuscripts, local history
More topics are welcome, please feel free to contact me.
Schedule:
Letters of commitment due June 1
First draft due week of August 2
Edited drafts returned week of August 30
Final draft due week of November 1
Audience:
Adult reference librarians in public and academic libraries, and LIS students.
Editor : Susan Knoer, MLS
susan.knoer@gmail.com
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Datamining your mind
Did you notice that you can now vote for or remove search results in Google? Maybe not, they're grayed out boxes next to the results. At this point, it only affects your results - but such potential in bulk!
If you've ever searched for Kentucky artists (and I have lately, for a grant), did you really want ALL the tattoo artists in the state? Change it to Kentucky Art and you get lots of names. I can now remove them from my results, or promote the really good sites.
Handy. Definitely.
What's really exciting is what (I imagine, but the Google Guys are no dummies) is going on behind the scenes. By associating the terms I'm using what I'm doing with the results, I'm in effect voting on the semantics, separating the types of art. For now, it's just mine, but multiply by millions and you may, fairly soon, be able to search character and get results clustered by typographic, moral, and cartoon even when those terms aren't used in a page.
An enormous semantic thesaurus, using current terms that we really use and not LC faceted terms from the 50s or 60s. The ultimate (for now) use of the hive mind, without the hive realizing it, not unlike the SETI screensaver that ran int he background analyzing data.
Think of groupsourcing as distributed computing. Not all the results are gold, but like ReCaptcha, the cumulative results are good. And good is good enough, right?
If you've ever searched for Kentucky artists (and I have lately, for a grant), did you really want ALL the tattoo artists in the state? Change it to Kentucky Art and you get lots of names. I can now remove them from my results, or promote the really good sites.
Handy. Definitely.
What's really exciting is what (I imagine, but the Google Guys are no dummies) is going on behind the scenes. By associating the terms I'm using what I'm doing with the results, I'm in effect voting on the semantics, separating the types of art. For now, it's just mine, but multiply by millions and you may, fairly soon, be able to search character and get results clustered by typographic, moral, and cartoon even when those terms aren't used in a page.
An enormous semantic thesaurus, using current terms that we really use and not LC faceted terms from the 50s or 60s. The ultimate (for now) use of the hive mind, without the hive realizing it, not unlike the SETI screensaver that ran int he background analyzing data.
Think of groupsourcing as distributed computing. Not all the results are gold, but like ReCaptcha, the cumulative results are good. And good is good enough, right?
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Excuse me, Google, but....DUH!
Okay, I get that Google is dealing with millions of documents at breakneck pace, with workers who are not lawyers. But can we get just one rulke in writing and post it on everyone's monitor?
IF IT'S PUBLISHED BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, IT'S PUBLIC DOMAIN. EVEN WHILE BUSH IS STILL IN OFFICE.
I just came across this record, and stopped in disbelief. I know there's a budget crisis, I know that federal agencies are making some very secretive and strange deals (see the Smithsonian/cable deal), but restricting content by falsely declaring an unconstitutional copyright ought to be actionable.
Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates of the ... Congress
Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates of the ... Congress
by United States Congress - Law - 1933
[ Sorry, this page's content is restricted ]
Snippet view - About this book - Add to my library - More editions
Come on guys. I understand that you don't have time to investigate the status of works that should be PD by date, but might have been restored under some later amendment, though I don't understand why you would scan works in copyright under a claim of fair use and restrict PD.
But what possible challenge to fair use could there be in the Congressional Record? How could a corporate body even establish standing to the public record?
Guys, they're our laws, and our congress. Yours too, of course, but not just yours. So can we just write an algorithm that says "This is PD, and we're sorry, we really goofed" for the Record?
IF IT'S PUBLISHED BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, IT'S PUBLIC DOMAIN. EVEN WHILE BUSH IS STILL IN OFFICE.
I just came across this record, and stopped in disbelief. I know there's a budget crisis, I know that federal agencies are making some very secretive and strange deals (see the Smithsonian/cable deal), but restricting content by falsely declaring an unconstitutional copyright ought to be actionable.
Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates of the ... Congress
Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates of the ... Congress
by United States Congress - Law - 1933
[ Sorry, this page's content is restricted ]
Snippet view - About this book - Add to my library - More editions
Come on guys. I understand that you don't have time to investigate the status of works that should be PD by date, but might have been restored under some later amendment, though I don't understand why you would scan works in copyright under a claim of fair use and restrict PD.
But what possible challenge to fair use could there be in the Congressional Record? How could a corporate body even establish standing to the public record?
Guys, they're our laws, and our congress. Yours too, of course, but not just yours. So can we just write an algorithm that says "This is PD, and we're sorry, we really goofed" for the Record?
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